Liverpool wonderkid Ben Woodburn has put an end to any lingering hopes England had of luring him away from Wales by insisting he’s never even considered ditching the Dragons.

And, in what should be the final say in the tug-of-war headlines over his international allegiance, the teenage talent has outlined his love of playing for the land of his grandfather.

Woodburn became the talk of the Premier League this season when he made a stunning breakthrough into Jurgen Klopp’s senior side, becoming Liverpool’s youngest ever goalscorer back in November.

It prompted excitement among Wales fans who had noted the 17-year-old’s rapid progress in the Wales youth ranks as part of a clutch of talented rookies hoping to join the likes of Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey and the rest of Chris Coleman’s Euro 2016 heroes in the senior set-up.

But Woodburn’s emergence fuelled attempts by England to try and persuade the dual-qualified forward to switch allegiances despite having been involved in the Welsh system from the age of 13.

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Wales bosses – including Coleman – were relaxed about the situation despite the hype, confident Woodburn was committed along with a number of other starlets who also qualified for other nations, including Ethan Ampadu and Gethin Jones.

Yet he was accused of selecting Nottingham-born Woodburn for the senior squad to face the Republic of Ireland in March simply to cap him and ward off England’s advances.

Woodburn did not make his debut in Dublin, but his nine appearances and regular selections in Klopp’s Liverpool squads has seen him retain his place for next week’s training camp in Portugal ahead of June’s crunch World Cup qualifier in Serbia.

But the tug-of-war fears have been put to bed following the final say on his international allegiance by Woodburn himself.

Speaking to the Liverpool Echo following Liverpool’s end-of-season friendly in Sydney, Woodburn revealed: “My mum’s dad is Welsh and ever since I started with Wales they have been great to me.

“I knew all the lads there and the coaches make it so welcoming. Ever since then I’ve wanted to play for Wales.

“I like it there, I love playing for Wales and I don’t want to be anywhere else. I didn’t really consider switching.”

Wales' Ben Woodburn during a training session at the Vale Resort

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Woodburn – who was part of the Wales Under 19 squad that impressed in their recent European qualifiers with victory over English counterparts – will link up with fellow Reds rookie Harry Wilson in the training camp in Portugal before Coleman will make a call to who stays in a final 23-man squad to take to Belgrade for the June 11 clash, a game that will have a big say on hopes of making it to the World Cup in 2018.

Fellow youngsters including 16-year-old Ampadu and Everton’s Jones have also been selected for the training squad.

Coleman is known to have had regular contact with Woodburn’s parents, Chris and Alison, who are the proud owners of the Liverpool shirt Woodburn was wearing when he broke Michael Owen’s record to become Liverpool’s youngest scorer with an EFL Cup winner against Leeds at the end of 2016.

“It’s a gift to my parents for all the support they have given me over the past 10 years. I need to give a bit back to them,” said Wodburn, who revealed he celebrated that night by playing FIFA at a friend’s house while trying to recreate the goal. “All my family have been great. They know how it is and I know how it is.

“There’s no point getting too excited. I’ve not really done much yet. I’ve still got a long way to go. I want to carry on developing and playing my best and see where it takes me.”